www.theblisspages.com - travel: Manchester
www.theblisspages.com - travel: ManchesterWell another trip for work, but not as exciting as Poland. A two-day workshop in Manchester.
Well, I got a good welcome to Manchester.
Luckily, I'd decided to go on Sunday, so I'd be at the office bright and early on Monday morning (I'm not a morning person). Especially lucky, as it turned out, for there was a train strike on Monday, which delayed some of my colleagues.
I'd been in Manchester for less than five minutes when I was approached by a youth who told me he was a manager …and a Christian …and gay.
Well, I was obviously worried about talking to a manager, but as we were going in the same direction (and there were plenty of people about), I wasn't too concerned. He enthused to me about how good the gay clubs were in Manchester and told me that I would enjoy them even though I was hetero!
He then told me that he was straight until he went to one of them - not reassuring!
Just as I got to the hotel, someone else approached me and asked whether I wanted business. I wasn't sure quite what sort of business he had in mind, and as they say in the quality papers, I made my excuses and left!
Two dodgy encounters within a few minutes of arrival. Not a good omen, I thought.
After making myself comfortable in Le Meridien Palace Hotel, I decided to have a wander round Chinatown.
I'd
been given a list of recommended restaurants, and I decided on Little Yang Sing
in George Street. It wasn't little at all and the menu looked very appetising.
This was my first Chinese meal since I'd been diagnosed with diabetes, so I
was worried about ordering something loaded with sugar. I asked about one dish
and the waitress went to check in the kitchens. Suddenly the manager bustled
over, with several waitresses in tow, to advise me personally on which dishes
I should order. He crossed one of my Dim Sum off the order, "too much sugar"
but let me substitute a Fried Shredded Duck meat roll, to go with Fried Pawn
Balls. I was impressed with the service and the friendly staff, but the best
was yet to come.
The food was a revelation - certainly the best Dim Sum I've ever tasted (and I've had plenty in various countries, including China, Thailand, Hong Kong and Malaysia). I followed this with Roast Duck off the bone with egg-fried rice. Delicious!
Le Meridien Palace is a fabulous terracotta grade II listed building with many
interesting architectural features, and breakfast in the hotel was an experience.
The dining room is grand
and the background music eclectic. We started with 'The Rite of Spring', one
of my favourite pieces of music of all time, and it was followed by Nessun Dorma
(meaning 'None shall Sleep'). This heroic music reminds me, not of football,
but of the fantastic Pirelli advertisement starring the equally fantastic Lamborghini
Countach.
These pieces of music, along with The Blue Danube, distracted me from the paucity of my breakfast, a lack not of the hotel's, but of my determination to lower my glucose levels. Those who know of my propensity to eat my way through a buffet would be amazed to see the small bowl of Fruit & Fibre, the half sausage, halved rasher of bacon, dry toast, meagre portion of baked beans and one mushroom on my plate … and this was by far the biggest breakfast I've had for a month. Sigh…
After work, I tried looking on the Internet for a vegetarian restaurant for the evening meal. I found a promising place called Gaia and suggested to a colleague that we went there. Luckily, I did another search for a review and found it on the Travel Britain's Gay & Lesbian Section! Cue change of plan …
In the end, we went back to the Little Yang Sing and had another excellent meal.
The day of the Queen Mother's funeral… The TV, the papers and the radio were all covering the one issue. It was everywhere you looked. The hotel restaurant even seemed to be joining in, with the Pomp & Circumstance March as I arrived. Bizarrely, the next piece was Star Wars, until I recalled the name of Episode V, 'The Empire Strikes Back'!
I managed to get away from work for a little while to see some of the funeral service and was able to leave early enough to get home at a reasonable time, satisfied that the trip had been successful.
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: © Mike Bliss 2009